My least favorite of the trilogy, but Bartimaeus makes it worth the read.

I just love this whole series, mainly because of the wit and sarcasm of the title character, Bartimaeus. All around, it's a well written fantasy series, and another good point is that it's only 3 books long (I hate series that go on too long).

Fantastic final book to the Bartimaeus Trilogy. I actually give this a 4.5 stars. In this book, Bartimaeus, Nathaniel (John Mandrake) and Kitty are back. Its three years after the events with the golem from the second book. Nathaniel is now a member of the council and one of the closest magicians to the minister and holds substantial power. Kitty had been working as an assistant to a magician in order to gain knowledge on Bartimaeus and his past. Bartimaeus....well he is much as he has been in the previous books.
We get a good look at the relationship between Bartimaeus and Ptolemy in this novel. As Kitty works to unravel his mysteries, Nathaniel is busy with the war effort but is met with opposition from many ends. When Nathaniel's career is put on the line, it draws our three characters together to unravel the dark mystery of Mr Hopkins and the relations between magician and 'demon.' Nathaniel of forced to learn that many, including his former teacher, are disappointed in the person he has become and just how hated the magician rule really is. As he questions his loyalties, Kitty is put to the test of drawing 'demon' and human closer together.
This book had a much more mature viewpoint and style. While the others were lighter in general, this one is darker. More language, violence and a unexpected ending. Mind you, Bartimaeus is cynical as ever, so you won't be disappointed there. A great book for older youth and adults of all ages.

Awesome!

This is the third, and final, installment of the Bartimaeus/Nathaniel books: This one did take me a while to get into, so I think the plot dragged a little towards the beginning. However, all my old favorites were back. Kitty is quickly rivaling Bartimaeus as my favorite character. I loved her perspective, and I thought she had such a strong voice. I thought she was brave, and kind, and she was everything Nathaniel wasn’t for a good portion of the series. She provides a nice balance to most of the self-serving individuals in the series. This one was a little hard on poor Bartimaeus. I felt so bad for him for a lot of the book, and I was really worried about him. However, for what would happen later, this makes sense from a storytelling perspective. I really thought the author did a good job capturing each character’s journey and wrapping it up without changing the tone of the book. I knew Nathaniel’s character was going to change a bit, and I was glad it went the way it did in this book. I would have preferred it to have happened a little more slowly, since it felt a bit abrupt, but I really liked that he still acted like a bit of a snot at the end of the book.

The Ending: I know the ending will probably turn some people off to this book, but I thought that it was very fair to the characters, and I actually thought it was the perfect ending for Nathaniel. Stroud managed to take his character to new places, and really have a full character arc, while retaining some of that snotty exterior that made me kind of love him in the first book. I thought the last few sentences were particularly perfect.

Recommend: Definitely! I absolutely loved this series, and will probably try to acquire the other two books in it soon (I own the first). I absolutely loved the tone and the story, and I thought Stroud managed to keep his books entertaining throughout the series, which is a difficult task. Often the second book can drag a bit, but I really loved that I got to follow Nathaniel and Kitty and Bartimaeus on their journeys, and I really enjoyed hearing more about Ptolemy in this one. This series is definitely one of my favorites for this year, especially the first volume. Its funny and exciting, and generally everything I want of a YA fantasy novel. Good job, Stroud. I’ll keep a lookout for your other books.

The best of the series. Love how the characters have multiple dimensions, we are not all bad or good, we are a combination of our circumstances. Such a sad and wonderful story.

Bartimaeus' series grows up, just like Harry Potter did in the Goblet of Fire. If that does not give too much away. This one actually might be my favorite of the series. It will certainly stay with me the longest and I believe has the most depth.